good stuff

March 06, 2011

This Glimpse

Sometimes when the shutter clicks I know I’ve captured something, a glimpse of something amazing. Sometimes there is a wonderful exchange that happens. The person in front of the camera decides that they trust the person behind the camera enough to be… open, bold, vulnerable, humble, real… themselves. And the person behind the camera, (that’s me, I have the best job in the whole entire world!) gets to capture that essence, honor it and show the world how beautiful it is. If it is a really great exchange though, there is a glimpse of Something More.

This magic little exchange has a few key elements. Trust is one, easy enough to understand I guess, a person needs to be able to trust me if they’re going to be all figuratively naked in front of my lens. This exchange also takes belief, at the very least a momentary awareness of the wonder that is the inherently universal and innately unique beauty inside. And this exchange, if it is a really great one, involves not just my spirit seeing somebody else’s- if we allow space, it involves the One who created the moment.

Recently I had the privilege of photographing four amazing women. They all came with their own stories of redemption, ready and willing to sit right in front of my lens and be themselves. And we all intentionally made room for Him to shine during the session. It was spectacular. The whole shoot was full of honesty and creativity. Each of them bared part of themselves, shared pieces of their hearts. And boy did He show up.

And fine I will go ahead and say it, one of these women was especially, well, uniquely I’ll say, inspiring. She is a New Friend. I don’t know her super well but I know that she is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and a really great hugger- an extraordinary women as far as I can tell. Also she is an extremely gifted storyteller. The best thing about her though- she knows who she is and Who’s she is.

I don’t know her entire journey to Freedom. But I know that the smile on her face is that of a woman who knows her Father is the King. And the light in her eyes is that of a woman who believes she is Loved beyond measure. Momentary or not, in this hundredth of a second, she was exquisitely, supremely herself and openly, humbly His all at the same time. And as the shutter was clicking my heart saw it, knew what Freedom looked like. To call it inspiring would be an understatement.

Coincidence maybe that this also happens to be the woman who taught the first Freedom class I ever attended. She told me (and a whole room full of people actually) the story that began to help me Think Differently. My journey to Freedom got fast-tracked that night with the Tale of the Acrobat. I thought initially that this photo was maybe just special to me because of that coincidence. I think maybe there is Something More to it though.

Sure, this magic exchange has happened plenty of times before and after I even knew what Freedom Ministry was. And sure, I’ve photographed people who’ve known what their True Identity was. There was something about this glimpse though… Her Freedom and Beauty is emerging more and more, no doubt. And as they say, "Free people free people". And I guess my definition of Freedom has changed. So this exchange was a clearer picture of Freedom than what I’ve seen before.

Most of the time if I really get somebody, really capture their essence, it is a child. I have few photos of adult’s boldly staring into my lens and baring bits of their soul. And even fewer photos of people with glimmers of Freedom shining in their eyes. They say that the photographer can be seen in every photo every photo they take. Maybe the special thing about this photo is that there are three storytellers in it. There is me doing my best to tell a story with my camera. There is my New Friend telling some of her Freedom story. And there is God telling His very big Freedom story.

I wish I had a few perfect words to wrap around why this capture is so extraordinary. Instead I have lots of imperfect ones, and a heart that desires even more than it did before to be Free-er.

Comments

This Glimpse

Sometimes when the shutter clicks I know I’ve captured something, a glimpse of something amazing. Sometimes there is a wonderful exchange that happens. The person in front of the camera decides that they trust the person behind the camera enough to be… open, bold, vulnerable, humble, real… themselves. And the person behind the camera, (that’s me, I have the best job in the whole entire world!) gets to capture that essence, honor it and show the world how beautiful it is. If it is a really great exchange though, there is a glimpse of Something More.

This magic little exchange has a few key elements. Trust is one, easy enough to understand I guess, a person needs to be able to trust me if they’re going to be all figuratively naked in front of my lens. This exchange also takes belief, at the very least a momentary awareness of the wonder that is the inherently universal and innately unique beauty inside. And this exchange, if it is a really great one, involves not just my spirit seeing somebody else’s- if we allow space, it involves the One who created the moment.

Recently I had the privilege of photographing four amazing women. They all came with their own stories of redemption, ready and willing to sit right in front of my lens and be themselves. And we all intentionally made room for Him to shine during the session. It was spectacular. The whole shoot was full of honesty and creativity. Each of them bared part of themselves, shared pieces of their hearts. And boy did He show up.

And fine I will go ahead and say it, one of these women was especially, well, uniquely I’ll say, inspiring. She is a New Friend. I don’t know her super well but I know that she is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and a really great hugger- an extraordinary women as far as I can tell. Also she is an extremely gifted storyteller. The best thing about her though- she knows who she is and Who’s she is.

I don’t know her entire journey to Freedom. But I know that the smile on her face is that of a woman who knows her Father is the King. And the light in her eyes is that of a woman who believes she is Loved beyond measure. Momentary or not, in this hundredth of a second, she was exquisitely, supremely herself and openly, humbly His all at the same time. And as the shutter was clicking my heart saw it, knew what Freedom looked like. To call it inspiring would be an understatement.

Coincidence maybe that this also happens to be the woman who taught the first Freedom class I ever attended. She told me (and a whole room full of people actually) the story that began to help me Think Differently. My journey to Freedom got fast-tracked that night with the Tale of the Acrobat. I thought initially that this photo was maybe just special to me because of that coincidence. I think maybe there is Something More to it though.

Sure, this magic exchange has happened plenty of times before and after I even knew what Freedom Ministry was. And sure, I’ve photographed people who’ve known what their True Identity was. There was something about this glimpse though… Her Freedom and Beauty is emerging more and more, no doubt. And as they say, "Free people free people". And I guess my definition of Freedom has changed. So this exchange was a clearer picture of Freedom than what I’ve seen before.

Most of the time if I really get somebody, really capture their essence, it is a child. I have few photos of adult’s boldly staring into my lens and baring bits of their soul. And even fewer photos of people with glimmers of Freedom shining in their eyes. They say that the photographer can be seen in every photo every photo they take. Maybe the special thing about this photo is that there are three storytellers in it. There is me doing my best to tell a story with my camera. There is my New Friend telling some of her Freedom story. And there is God telling His very big Freedom story.

I wish I had a few perfect words to wrap around why this capture is so extraordinary. Instead I have lots of imperfect ones, and a heart that desires even more than it did before to be Free-er.